Ferrying space shuttles across the country is just one of the very odd jobs given to the workhorse jumbo jet

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AIR BASE:

In the event of nuclear catastrophe, top U.S. government officials will be able to manage the nation from “a highly survivable command, control and communications center,” says the U.S. Air Force: an E-4B aircraft known as the “Doomsday Plane.” The USAF maintains four E-4Bs, custom-fortified 747-200s, as National Airborne Operations Centers for the president, the secretary of defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.....[
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AIR BASE:

In the event of nuclear catastrophe, top U.S. government officials will be able to manage the nation from “a highly survivable command, control and communications center,” says the U.S. Air Force: an E-4B aircraft known as the “Doomsday Plane.” The USAF maintains four E-4Bs, custom-fortified 747-200s, as National Airborne Operations Centers for the president, the secretary of defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Featuring thermal shielding and protection from the electronics-destroying electromagnetic pulses that would be produced by a nuclear blast, the E-4B can be refueled in-flight by an air tanker to extend its time aloft.

EYE IN THE SKY:

NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) carries a 2.5-meter telescope to 13,700 meters—an altitude that would make even the most seasoned mountaintop astronomer envious.....[
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EYE IN THE SKY:

NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) carries a 2.5-meter telescope to 13,700 meters—an altitude that would make even the most seasoned mountaintop astronomer envious. The customized 747SP (special performance) aircraft lifts SOFIA above more than 99 percent of atmospheric water vapor, which absorbs infrared wavelengths and complicates ground-based infrared astronomy.

LETTING FLY:

Oregon-based Evergreen International Aviation boasts that its Supertanker is “the largest aerial firefighting aircraft in the world.” A converted 747-100 cargo plane, it holds 75,000 liters of water or flame retardant.....[
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LETTING FLY:

Oregon-based Evergreen International Aviation boasts that its Supertanker is “the largest aerial firefighting aircraft in the world.” A converted 747-100 cargo plane, it holds 75,000 liters of water or flame retardant. Evergreen has deployed the plane to fight fires in Israel and Mexico, and in 2009 the company contracted with the state of California to fight blazes near Los Angeles. But the Supertanker has yet to be called into wider service by the U.S. Forest Service, a fact that Evergreen bemoaned in June in a prepared statement.

SPEED OF LIGHT:

The Airborne Laser Testbed (ALTB), a modified 747-400 cargo plane, used a directed-energy weapon to destroy a ballistic missile in flight during a 2010 test. The plane’s nose turret featured a telescope that aimed a megawatt-class laser to heat a “boosting ballistic missile to critical structural failure” within two minutes of launch, according to Boeing, the prime contractor for the U.S.....[
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SPEED OF LIGHT:

The Airborne Laser Testbed (ALTB), a modified 747-400 cargo plane, used a directed-energy weapon to destroy a ballistic missile in flight during a 2010 test. The plane’s nose turret featured a telescope that aimed a megawatt-class laser to heat a “boosting ballistic missile to critical structural failure” within two minutes of launch, according to Boeing, the prime contractor for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency project. But then–Defense Secretary Robert Gates publicly lamented that the laser’s range was insufficient for real-world use, and the project was canceled. In February 2012 the ALTB was retired and placed in storage at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona.

PIGGYBACK:

NASA has two 747-100s, originally built for passenger service, used to carry space shuttles across the country. Whenever a shuttle mission was diverted by poor weather to a landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California, for instance, a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) would give the orbiter a piggyback ride back to Kennedy Space Center in Florida.....[
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PIGGYBACK:

NASA has two 747-100s, originally built for passenger service, used to carry space shuttles across the country. Whenever a shuttle mission was diverted by poor weather to a landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California, for instance, a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) would give the orbiter a piggyback ride back to Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The SCAs also delivered the now-retired space shuttles and a shuttle prototype to museums in Virginia and New York. The photo shows Endeavour being carried away from Kennedy Space Center for the last time September 19. The shuttle is scheduled to arrive at LAX September 21, en route to the California Science Center in Los Angeles.